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Southeast Asia’s economic growth could be trade war’s next casualty

FOR SOUTHEAST ASIA’S biggest economies, 2018 wasn’t supposed to be like this.
If a widening trade war wasn’t enough to contend with, a global wave of policy tightening, strong oil prices and domestic politics are also weighing on growth prospects for the region.
Policy makers are rewriting economic strategies as volatility surges, in some cases putting greater emphasis on currency stability or even structural changes.
“With trade war risks now materializing, this suggests stronger headwinds for exports,” said Tamara Henderson, an economist at Bloomberg Economics in Singapore.
“Investment, already buffeted by tighter monetary policy, is also likely to be a casualty.”
Election uncertainty in Indonesia and Thailand, as well as questions around the new Malaysian government’s commitment to fiscal consolidation, could add to investor angst in the region for the rest of 2018, said Henderson.
Growth outlooks for Southeast Asia’s six biggest economies are being tested in various ways.
INDONESIA
First-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 5.1% against the central bank’s 5.1-5.2% 2018 forecast and a 5.3% Bloomberg survey median for this year.
Policy makers in Indonesia have been working to temper expectations around growth as they’ve turned their focus to promoting financial stability amid a slumping rupiah.
A widening current-account deficit and investment outflows are keeping more rate hikes on the cards for 2018, and the government’s pledges for lower spending and import curbs will probably damp growth further.
Bank Indonesia’s next decision is on Thursday.
MALAYSIA
GDP increased by 5.4% in the first quarter against the central bank’s 5.5-6% 2018 forecast and a 5.5% Bloomberg survey median for this year.
Uncertainty abounds in Malaysia, where a two-month-old government is only starting to give a clearer picture of economic policy. A new sales tax planned for later this year could slow consumer spending, and with more infrastructure projects on ice, investment and government spending outlooks are also clouded.
While Bank Negara Malaysia left its benchmark interest rate on hold last week, analysts have been trimming predictions for an increase amid the limp growth outlook and weak inflation. A more dovish stance from the central bank would buck regional and global trends.
PHILIPPINES
GDP grew by 6.8% in the first quarter against the government’s 7-8% 2018 target and a 6.7% Bloomberg survey median for this year.
Inflation shooting far beyond the ceiling of its target range is giving the Philippines central bank some nerves that overheating might already have set in.
The rapid price gains also could take some shine off the otherwise solid economic growth, particularly if the central bank is forced to move faster on raising interest rates.
A third hike for this year now looks more likely for the Aug. 9 decision.
SINGAPORE
GDP grew 3.8% last quarter against the central bank’s 2.5-3.5% 2018 forecast and a 3.1% Bloomberg survey median for this year.
While economists see steady growth for Singapore in 2018, the second half may stumble.
The city-state’s recent property-market curbs could damp sentiment and translate to crimped consumer spending.
Singapore may also struggle to buoy the confidence of manufacturers, whose expectations were already lowered after a stronger-than-expected 2017 for global trade.
“We had projected slower growth in the second half, but the negative trade developments are increasing the downside risks,” economists at Standard Chartered Plc in Singapore said in a research note last week.
“New export orders within the PMI readings have also decelerated.”
THAILAND
GDP expanded by 4.8% in the first quarter against the central bank’s 4.4% 2018 forecast and a 4.2% Bloomberg survey median for this year.
The Thai economy is something of a regional outlier, with the first quarter’s 4.8% annual growth the fastest in five years.
Inflation has only recently broken into the lower end of the central bank’s 1-4% target band, allowing policy makers some room to hold interest rates near the record low they’ve remained at since 2015.
“Economic growth in Thailand should remain reasonably strong in the near term, but a slowdown in global growth and rising political uncertainty suggest the recent upturn will run out of steam by next year,” economists at Capital Economics Ltd. said in a research note last week.
Thailand, run by a military government since a coup in May 2014, is expected to have an election early next year.
VIETNAM
GDP grew 6.8% last quarter against the central bank’s 6.5-6.7% 2018 forecast and a 6.8% Bloomberg survey median for this year.
Given that Vietnam’s trade as a share of GDP is about 200%, its economy is particularly sensitive to any worsening tensions that threaten global supply chains.
The economy will be especially attuned to China’s growth slowdown for knock-on effects in regional trade, and has also felt the weight of rising US interest rates.
Growth eased in the second quarter from the previous three months on reduced mining output and state investment.
The government expects a further slowing in the second half and is adding measures to boost business, the General Statistics Office said last month. — Bloomberg

Solar offers affordable digibox

SOLAR DIGITAL Media Holdings, Inc. has announced the entry of the newest digital receiver in the Philippine market aimed at giving consumers options and access to “quality entertainment at a more affordable price,” according to a company release.
“EasyTV is unique — -we offer all the free digital channels plus you get premium content,” Rene Esguerra, COO of Solar Digital Media Holdings, Inc., told reporters during a roundtable interview on July 2 at the Solar offices in Mandaluyong City.
EasyTV SUPERDIGIBOX, which retails at P2,999, comes with the digital receiver (which also acts as a media player) and a year-long subscription to 15 premium channels from Solar Entertainment including a dedicated Korean drama channel called K Plus, a History channel, a 24-hour horror channel, BOO, and three sports channels — Solar Sports, BTV (Basketball TV), and NBA Premium TV. If a customer wants to keep the subscription for the 15 premium channels after the initial year, it will then cost P999 a year.
“We’re looking at positioning ourselves between those with [ABS-CBN’s] TVplus and those with [pay TV] subscription,” Mr. Esguerra said.
ABS-CBN TVplus is a digital terrestrial television product and service owned and operated by ABS-CBN Convergence, a subsidiary of ABS-CBN. It was launched commercially in 2015. The product gives customers access to free-to-air channels such as ABS-CBN and ABS-CBN Sports+Action, as well as premium channels including CineMo!, YeY!, the Knowledge Channel, and DZMM Teleradyo. It is currently priced at P1,499.
He noted that more often than not, viewers who have pay TV subscriptions are not able to watch all the channels on their service, and this is why EasyTV is an attractive alternative: they have access to free-to-air channels alongside a couple of other premium channels. But all of that doesn’t mean they’re out to replace pay TV operators.
“We’re not going after [pay TV] operators, they have their own market; we’re not after TVplus, they have their own market. We’re creating an alternative. Those who want cheaper pay TV and those who want better than the free digital broadcast, we’re in that segment,” he explained.
In May, ABS-CBN Corp. announced it was targeting to sell six million boxes in the country and had sold 4.3 million boxes as of end-2017.
EasyTV was launched in late May and Mr. Esguerra noted that so far “the performance has exceeded our expectations. The pick-up was very good and probably, it’s because it offers something very unique.”
He added that the company is expecting deploy 500,000 units in the first 12 months with a focus on Metro Manila despite having people request they bring the device to other regions like Davao and Cebu.
“We wanted to compete in the most competitive market. We wanted to see how EasyTV will hold up in Metro Manila,” Mr. Esguerra said.
“What we’re doing right now is, before moving to provincial areas, we want the service to be solid in Metro Manila,” he said before explaining that they currently have only one tower in Metro Manila and are building two more so the coverage will be wider.
Aside from the current 15 premium channels, EasyTV is also looking at adding more channels including a Tagalog movie channel and a movie channel dedicated to films from the Solar Pictures library.
“We’re really hoping that with (EasyTV), we will be changing the viewing habits of the Filipino people. Given the attention span of Filipinos, you have to give them good content, as some of them do not have the time to surf. We’re looking at adding more channels but we are very selective with the channels we want to air. What we want is what the people want,” Mr. Esguerra said.
EasyTV is currently available in ShopTV (www.shoptv.com.ph) and on its own website (www.easytv.ph). Mr. Esguerra said they are looking at bringing the box to retailers such as Ace Hardware and Handyman in the near future. — Zsarlene B. Chua

How smart solutions can help PHL cities become more liveable

By Denise A. Valdez
THE cities of Cebu and Davao should consider investing in smart solutions into its infrastructure and services, if they want to become more liveable and sustainable.
McKinsey & Co. partner and co-head of Infrastructure and Real Estate practice Mukund Sridhar said smart solutions are needed in cities like Cebu and Davao to “expand access to services, reaching residents who were once left out.”
“Mid-size cities like Cebu and Davao could benefit most from Smart Cities development by taking an integrated view, and equipping their existing infrastructure with hardware and software solutions to deliver high-value, cost-effective impact,” Mr. Sridhar told BusinessWorld via e-mail.
In its report “Smart Cities in Southeast Asia,” McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) identified mid-sized cities Cebu and Davao as “emerging champions,” along with Hanoi, Phnom Penh and Yangon.
Mr. Sridhar said these cities would require large-scale investments to roll out these smart solutions, and may exceed their financial capacity.
“Cities may choose to prioritize and focus on smaller districts or pilot zones in order to showcase the impact of these technologies,” he said.
The McKinsey executive noted the city government does not have to be the sole funder and operator of each type of service and infrastructure system.
“They have to be able to identify those areas where they can step back and make room for other players, including private-sector companies, utilities and transport firms, universities, foundations, and nonprofits,” Mr. Sridhar said.
He added, “Forming alliances, setting industry standards, and shifting toward open standards and interfaces may help cities move forward at speed and scale.”
PRIME MOVERS
MGI noted Manila, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh, Jakarta, and Kuala Lumpur are “prime movers,” with existing infrastructure systems in place but are often strained.
“The biggest priority is expanding systems and services to serve more people, which includes reaching segments of the population who lack access today and planning ahead to absorb future growth. Retrofitting existing infrastructure systems with smart technologies (for example, using Internet of Things [IoT] sensors for predictive maintenance on metro lines) can optimize their performance and get more capacity and lifespan out of them,” the think tank said.
“The sheer scale of these cities makes smart city initiatives financially viable even at modest levels of adoption. When prime movers implement smart solutions successfully, they can capture big wins and touch millions of lives,” it added.
MGI said other countries have succeeded in making use of open data to allow private institutions innovate and create technological solutions to the problems it observes in the community.
The government and private sector must work from the perspective of the residents if they want to create solutions that are tailor-fit to the citizen’s needs.
“The entire point of Smart City planning is to respond more effectively and dynamically to the needs and desires of residents, therefore any strategy and prioritization exercise has to start with people rather than technology,” Mr. Sridhar said.

Rockestra 2018: MSO goes beyond Mozart


By Gideon Isidro
THE MANILA Symphony Orchestra (MSO) has given us some of the best classical music performances in the country, and from time to time, they do small-scale collaborations with other artists on fusion genres and add some musical variety to their plate.
This time around, the MSO is going out of its comfort zone in a big way with Rockestra 2018, its first classical-rock fusion concert which will be held on July 29 at The Theatre at Solaire.
Under the baton of MSO Principal Conductor Arturo Molina, Rockestra will feature composer, arranger, and freelance guitar sessionist Noli Aurillo. He has performed with such local artists and groups such as Asin, Side A, Johnoy Danao, and Glaiza de Castro. In 2002, he won Best Musical Arranger at the Awit Awards. Mr. Aurillo is regarded by many as the Philippines’ premier solo acoustic guitarist.
The MSO will also collaborate with Silent Sanctuary, a top OPM band, in Rockestra. Started in 2001, this five member group has toured the country and Dubai, and was named Myx Favorite Group twice. Its best known singles include “Pasensya Ka Na,” “Sa’yo,” and “Kundiman.” Silent Sanctuary is not alien to classical traditions, as it has collaborated with the MSO before; furthermore two of its members, Anjo Inacay (cello) and Kim Mirandilla Ng (violin), are former members of the MSO. The bands three other members are Sarkie Sarangay (vocals/guitar), Jason Rondero (bass/backing vocals) and Allen Calixto (drums).
The Silent Sanctuary members are excited about the concert, noting the new music they will make and how different the sound will be.
I look forward to how the Orchestra will sound with us. Having more strings will make the sound louder, and will make it more exciting,” said Mr. Rondero.
“It’s more exciting now that we have new music made in collaboration with MSO,” said Mr. Sarangay. “I feel very excited to play with them. I remember playing with them previously and it was excellent and hair raising.”
Rockestra 2018 will be held on July 29, 6 p.m., at The Theatre at Solaire,, Solaire Resort & Casino, 1 Aseana Ave., Entertainment City, Parañaque City.
Tickets are available at Ticketworld (891-9999, www.ticketworld.com.ph). For details on group and student discounts, send a message to the MSO Facebook page at facebook.com/manilasymphony or call 523-712.

KMC Solutions adds more flexible workspaces to its portfolio

By Mark Louis F. Ferrolino
Special Features Writer
KMC SOLUTIONS recently launched three flexible workspaces in Metro Manila, and is looking to open more in the Visayas region as part of the company’s plan to ramp up its portfolio to 10,000 seats by the end of the year.
The three new office spaces are located in Robinsons Zeta Tower in Quezon City, Rockwell Sheridan 1 in Mandaluyong City, and Robinsons Cyberscape Gamma in Pasig City.
KMC offers almost 500 seats at its office space in Zeta Tower, located at the corner of Ortigas Ave. and E. Rodriguez, Jr. Ave. Most of the seats are in private rooms, but there are also desks and co-working spaces available.
KMC’s workspace at Rockwell Sheridan 1 has more than 500 seats, with work floors, manager’s cabins, and director’s offices. These setups are suitable for multinational companies that want to have a presence in Makati City
At its office space in Robinsons Cyberscape Gamma, KMC offers around 600 seats. There are modern plug-and-play spaces with common areas such as bars, multi-function rooms, and pantries.
According to Tracy G. Ignacio, KMC Solutions chief operating officer, the three workspaces have different styles and characters. “The look and feel is generally different from one site to the other,” she said.
But they all have fast and reliable Internet connection.
At present, KMC has 8,800 seats in 29 floors in 19 different buildings, for a total of about 48,000 square meters (sq.m.).
The company is looking to expand its footprint, as it negotiates with landlords in various locations, including Iloilo and Cebu.
Michael T. McCullough, KMC Solutions managing director and cofounder, said the flexible workspace is the future. He is optimistic that at least 15% of the offices spaces in Asia will be flexible by 2030.
In the Philippines, demand for office space has reached as much as 1.2 million sq.m. this year, and clients continuously look for flexible workspaces as the traditional office model slowly becomes obsolete, the company said.
“With the growing number of start-ups and entrepreneurs and the increasing number of foreign companies who want to establish a presence in the Philippines, the need for co-working and flexible working space is booming,” said Mr. McCullough.
Mr. McCullough is already advising his team to be ready for the massive expansion of the company, which will be 10 times bigger than what it is right now, he said.
The biggest driver contributing to the growing demand for flexible workspaces in the country is the opportunity and freedom it gives to the companies, especially start-ups, where they can open an office without investing a lot, said Ms. Ignacio.
“We at KMC are committed to help local and foreign businesses, entrepreneurs, and small to medium-sized enterprises in the Philippines in providing initial support, working spaces, even up to the growth and expansion of their operations,” said Mr. McCullough.

With dreamy electro pop, Milk and Bone charts own path

QUEBEC CITY, Canada — With smooth minimalist electro pop and lush vocal harmonies, Milk and Bone has found a growing audience while charting an unusual path for French Canadian artists — singing entirely in English.
The Montreal duo of Camille Poliquin and Laurence Lafond-Beaulne met studying jazz together and playing as back-up musicians when, sensing a chemistry between them four years ago, they posted on their personal social media accounts a snippet of a song that became “New York.”
To their surprise and delight, they quickly amassed a following. The two friends had suddenly become a band. They rushed to find management, figure out a look and choose the duo’s name, whose meaning they still struggle to explain.
“We never saw it coming because at first this was just a platform for people we knew to listen to our music,” Ms. Poliquin told AFP alongside Ms. Lafond-Beaulne at their hotel in Quebec City where they played the historic provincial capital’s summer festival.
“Pressure” — like many of Milk and Bone’s songs, marked by chill but dominant percussion, melancholic keyboards and delicate, complementing layers of the two women’s voices — has been streamed nine million times on Spotify or the sharing site SoundCloud.
The lyrics delve into emotional sagas, often on uncertain romances. “Pressure” likens a lover to the solace of a robust shower while “Daydream” — a track off their second album, Deception Bay, which came out earlier this year — conjures up a dreamy fantasy boyfriend.
One consistency is that the songs are always in English. Both women, who are in their 20s, speak English fluently although they are French Canadians.
“When I do write in French I find myself writing something outside of what happens to me, while we like to write music that is from the heart,” Ms. Poliquin said.
“It’s a generation thing as well. People our age are a bit more open and just want to do whatever we want to do,” she said.
Montreal, with its complicated linguistic politics, has generated plenty of native English-language artists, from the iconic poet turned singer Leonard Cohen to indie rockers Arcade Fire.
But French Canadians crossing over entirely to English is less common. Celine Dion, Quebec’s best-known singer, performs in both English and French.
Ms. Lafond-Beaulne — who feels that French carries a “harder” sound when sung — said Milk and Bone has not faced much backlash over singing in English.
“People like to know why, and when we say it’s not a conscious decision, they get it,” Ms. Lafond-Beaulne said.
FINDING AN AESTHETIC
As Milk and Bone pulls in larger audiences on the road, the duo is also planning to release collaborations with other musicians, although they cannot yet publicly reveal details.
At Quebec City’s summer music festival, known in French as the Festival d’ete de Quebec, Milk and Bone opened for Cyndi Lauper and Lorde on an all-women night on the vast main stage.
The duo perched themselves on a podium behind their drums and synthesizers, the group’s name written out in oversized balloon letters as two air dancer puppets shot out of vents.
When the duo first tasted success, the pair tried to find a persona. At first they thought to associate with anime culture and released songs with subtitles not only in French but in Japanese before settling on a stage look that is somewhere between free-spirited partying and lounge chic.
Ms. Poliquin said that visuals amounted to a new, and sometimes overlooked means of self-expression for musicians.
“You can see right away if a major (label) is behind the aesthetic and it doesn’t quite fit,” she said.
“It’s fun to think about the visuals,” added Ms. Lafond-Beaulne. “It’s like you’re a teenager finding who you are. And now we’re adults — young adults.” — AFP

Americans burdened by increasing housing costs

IT’S $500 more, each and every month. That’s the additional cost of a mortgage payment if you bought a median-priced home in San Jose, California, in the first quarter of 2018 compared to late last year. The mortgage payment would be about $4,600 compared to $4,100 due to higher lending rates and increasing home prices.
Bloomberg calculated the monthly aggregate housing cost, for both new buyers and renters, by weighting each region’s share of housing units that were occupied by owners and renters, respectively.
The financial burden of living in coastal neighborhoods reveals itself quickly in the Bloomberg study. San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Jacksonville, and the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut area rounded out the top five areas with the fastest increase in mortgage payments. Altogether, new buyers in almost one-third of metropolitan housing markets faced higher mortgage costs of $50 or more per month in the first quarter.
Rental costs weren’t any better. Slightly over 10% of all metro areas saw rents rising faster than inflation. In three locations, rents increased by more than 5%.
Overall, eight of the top 20 most expensive markets are in California, with three of them among the 100 largest metro areas in the US. San Jose, San Francisco, and Los Angeles are the three priciest markets.
Among the largest 100 markets, for a typical house hunter, only Albany, New York, saw a decrease in the average mortgage payment in the first quarter. Average monthly obligations in Albany fell $27 to $760. But, the drop is a reflection of the 7.6% fall in median home prices in the region compared to a one quarter earlier.
“By many metrics, the US housing market in 2018 is on sound footing,” said Chris Herbert, managing director of the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, but “in many respects the situation has worsened for both the lowest-income Americans and those higher up the income ladder.”
The increases in home prices and rents means that in the first three months of 2018, in more than one fifth of metropolitan areas, housing expenses drain more than 30% of income, a widely accepted metric for home affordability.
In nine metro regions, aggregate housing costs breached 50% of income. Eight of them are located in California and the ninth is Honolulu. High incomes in San Francisco, the second-most-expensive market in the Bloomberg study, kept that area from crossing this threshold, however, its residents spend 46.6% of income on housing. — Bloomberg

FMIC expects PHL stock market to recover in 2018’s second half

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter
FIRST METRO Investment Corp. (FMIC) expects the local bourse to stage a rebound in the second half of 2018, albeit revising downward its year-end target for the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) due to higher oil prices, the global trade war, likely rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve, higher domestic inflation and the weakening peso, coupled with some political concerns.
From its year-end target of 9,400 announced last January, FMIC now expects the PSEi to settle within a range of 7,900 to 8,200 at the end of 2018. This will translate to a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 18-19x. The PE ratio indicates how expensive a market is. FMIC also expects an earnings per share growth of 11.5% to support the index’s rally.
The downward revision came after the index hit a low of 6,986 last June, which officially placed the PSEi in bear territory — or a 20% drop from its high of 9,058 in January.
“For the rest of the year, as the economy remains strong, fiscal policy continues to support growth, corporate earnings deliver and preparations for the 2019 elections take-off, the PSEi may end on a stronger note,” FMIC Senior Executive Vice President Jose Pacifico E. Marcelo said during the FMIC Midyear Economic and Capital Markets briefing in Taguig City yesterday.
FMIC Vice President Cristina S. Ulang noted that the benchmark index’s slump was due in part to the economy’s continued expansion, which brought with it higher inflation, rising interest rates, and the weaker peso-dollar rate.
“We would like to view it as a reality check. The market is trying to make sense of what’s happening… we may be having a 6.8% GDP (gross domestic product) growth, but the growth is bringing with it a lot of challenges, a lot of pain,” Ms. Ulang said.
NEW NORMAL
The PSEi’s exit from bear territory indicates that it is now adjusting to a “new normal,” as investors become more comfortable with the higher interest rate environment, faster inflation and the weakening peso-dollar exchange rate.
Data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority earlier this month showed headline inflation accelerated to a fresh five-year high of 5.2% in June.
The inflation print last month picked up from the 4.6% figure logged in May and exceeded estimates from the BSP and the Department of Finance.
BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. said the central bank will review its forecast inflation path as this will shape the strength and timing of its next monetary policy response to temper inflation expectations.
The BSP has already raised its rates twice this year, with borrowing costs now within a 3-4% range.
FMIC also blamed the outflow of foreign funds from the stock market, which has so far reached P69 billion for 2018. The company noted that foreign investors are “unfairly lumping” the Philippines with weaker emerging markets, when the country is actually “the strong part of that space.”
For instance, FMIC noted that the country’s external debt to GDP is the lowest among its peers in the ASEAN region at 23.3% of GDP. Meanwhile, Malaysia’s external debt to GDP is at 67.4%, Thailand’s is at 32.3%, while Indonesia’s is at 37.4%.
The Philippines also has the highest reserve requirement ratio at 18%, compared to Indonesia’s 65%, Malaysia’s 3.5%, and Vietnam’s 3%.
“In terms of boosting liquidity, the BSP has room to cut the reserve requirements. The timing will be key as any further cuts should not undermine the inflation-controlling efforts of the BSP. So we expect to see around 1-2% more cuts before the year ends,” FMIC President Rabboni Francis B. Arjonillo said.
Given the higher interest rates, fund raising initiatives at the country’s capital markets also slowed down by 11% to P327 billion in the first half of 2018. FMIC expects capital raising to recover in the next semester, driven by the fixed income market.
Total capital raised for the year is projected to grow by 7% to P773 billion, P220 billion of which will come from the equities market while P553 billion will be fixed income issues.

Hot-button film is China’s surprise box-office hit

SHANGHAI — The screen portrayal of a cancer sufferer whose illegal import of foreign medicines into China spurred national policy changes has become a box-office smash as audiences flock to a rare Chinese film on a hot-button issue.
Dying to Survive is based on Lu Yong, who was arrested in 2013 after illegally importing a generic cancer drug in a case that sparked public debate about high medical costs.
It is being compared to Dallas Buyers Club, the critically acclaimed 2013 US film about smuggled HIV treatments, and praised as a breath of fresh air in China’s heavily censored cinema landscape.
The public debate eventually saw Lu’s case dismissed and his experience is credited with prompting government steps to make cancer medicines more accessible and affordable.
Starring popular comic actor and director Xu Zheng as a character modelled after Lu, the movie uses touches of black comedy to leaven the heavy subject matter and is on course to become one of China’s highest-grossing films.
Released July 5, it surpassed even the first-week box office take of Wolf Warrior 2, a commando adventure that last year capitalised on rising patriotism to become China’s highest-grossing movie ever and the first non-Hollywood title in the 100 all-time top-earners worldwide.
THREE YEARS TO LIVE
Lu, now 50, was told in 2002 he had three years left after being diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML).
Doctors said Glivec, manufactured by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis, could stabilise his condition until he was able to get a potentially life-saving bone-marrow transplant.
But Glivec — Novartis’ brand name for the drug Imatinib — cost a prohibitive 24,000 yuan ($3,600) per bottle in China then.
An Indian generic version cost only 2,000 yuan, however, so Lu began ordering it from abroad, increasing the volume over the years as other patients sought his help.
The Indian drug was barred under Chinese rules and Lu was eventually arrested.
But in a rare case of Communist authorities bending to popular opinion, prosecutors in central Hunan province dropped Lu’s case after thousands of Chinese leukaemia patients signed an open letter urging his release.
Lu, who says he never sought to profit from the scheme, was never charged.
Since then, the government has relaxed policies on cancer drug imports and allowed reimbursement for Glivec prescriptions under national health insurance.
“I know the pressure of being tortured by disease, so I never thought to make one cent,” Lu said in comments on his personal blog.
“Since the movie’s release, it’s become a sensation. To be able to push healthcare reform is an excellent thing.”
Lu, still awaiting his bone-marrow transplant, is now a businessman who owns a glove factory in eastern China.
As of Friday, the film had earned 2.04 billion yuan ($300 million). Wolf Warrior 2 earned a total 5.67 billion yuan in a 12-week cinema run.
CHANGING MINDS
China’s censors rarely green-light mass releases of films on touchy subjects.
But the key villain in Dying to Survive is the pharmaceutical industry, and the Communist Party apparently saw the propaganda value of a movie that portrays the government as responsive on the issue.
The government announced earlier this year that it would lift tariffs on many cancer treatments, and the buzz around the film’s release has coincided with yet more change.
In late June, it was announced that dozens of previously barred imported drugs had been added to national medical insurance.
After the release of Dying to Survive rekindled the discussion, China’s drug administration said it also would remove hurdles to foreign generic drugs “to better satisfy the medication need of China’s patients.”
The movie hit a 9.1 average rating on popular Chinese film-review website Douban.com shortly after its release, one of the site’s highest-ever marks.
Bai Feng, the original prosecutor in Lu’s case, told a government-run news portal after the film came out that Lu’s case helped change government thinking.
“It promoted a transition in our concept of justice and the perception of how we enforce the law,” Bai said. — AFP

DMCI Homes set to top off Sheridan North Tower

CONSUNJI-LED property developer DMCI Homes is poised to top off the second building of its Sheridan Towers project in Pasig City this month.

Sheridan Towers North Tower
Sheridan Towers North Tower

In a statement, DMCI Homes said the 43-residential level North Tower is already 46% complete as of June. Turnover for units at the North Tower is expected by May 2020.
Units at the South Tower were turned over in September 2017, a year earlier than its committed ready for occupancy (RFO) date of November 2018.
The two-tower development is located near the boundary of Pasig and Mandaluyong City. It can be accessed via EDSA and C-5, as well as the soon-to-be-built BGC-Ortigas Center Link Road.
“Both towers are already sold out amidst big demand for residential condo units in the area especially from young professionals and start-up families working in Makati, Mandaluyong, Ortigas, and Bonifacio Global City,” DMCI Homes said.
The North Tower offers one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom unit types with a balcony. Sizes of the units range from 28 square meters (sq.m.) to 79.5 sq.m. and are priced between P3 million to P6 million.
Occupying a land area of 11,155 sq.m., Sheridan Towers has a modern tropical theme with resort-inspired amenities including a basketball court, playcourt, children’s play area, entertainment room, fitness gym, function hall, lap pool, leisure pool, kiddie pool and gardens.
DMCI Homes employs its own Lumiventt Technology, which allows natural light and airflow into residential units of high-rise structures.
“The design technology features Sky Patios, or three-storey high openings located at the front and back of every five-floor levels; vents at both sides of the building; and breezeways which not only add to the aesthetics but also enliven the structure,” the company said.
Aside from Sheridan Towers, DMCI Homes has developed other resort-inspired communities in Mega Manila, Baguio, Boracay and Davao City. — CRAG

US lawmakers shown backing fake kindergarten gun scheme in Sacha Baron Cohen’s new satire show

LOS ANGELES — In Sacha Baron Cohen’s provocative new comedy show, American politicians are filmed backing a fictitious program to teach kindergartners how to use guns to defend themselves in school shootings.
In a seven-episode series launching on cable channel Showtime on Sunday, the British prankster takes on four different personas as he satirizes the political and cultural life of the United States in the era of President Donald Trump.
In the first episode of Who is America?, previewed for media by Showtime, Baron Cohen poses as an Israeli anti-terror expert who gets two US congressmen to voice support for his fake “Kinderguardians” scheme for children as young as three.
The scheme includes a fake instructional video featuring children’s songs and “gunimals” — weapons adorned with soft toys — that would purportedly help kids confront the school shootings that have plagued the United States for the past decade.
Republican congressmen Dana Rohrabacher of California and Joe Wilson of South Carolina, along with former Senate Republican leader Trent Lott, who is now a lobbyist at a Washington law firm, are shown enthusiastically backing the idea, alongside gun rights advocates and a former congressman-turned-talk radio host, Joe Walsh.
Showtime and Sacha Baron Cohen both declined to comment on the series. Those shown endorsing the fake scheme, including the politicians, had not seen the finished show ahead of its Sunday premiere. Rohrabacher, Wilson, and Lott did not immediately reply to requests for comment late on Saturday.
Walsh told CNN on Saturday that he was tricked into reading the words off a teleprompter.
The show marks Baron Cohen’s first TV project in a decade after he launched his comedy career as subversive white English rapper Ali G., whose interviewees included Donald Trump and Newt Gingrich. His 2006 faux documentary film Borat ridiculed Kazakhstan and Middle Americans.
In Who is America?, Baron Cohen also takes aim at the media and political correctness, with the comedian posing as a pony-tailed liberal radio reporter on a post-2016 election cycling tour, and a man in a disability scooter who purports to investigate fake news.
In the first episode, Baron Cohen’s radio journalist persona is shown dining at the home of two Trump supporters in South Carolina and regaling them with lurid stories about his supposed family.
Walsh, the former congressman from Illinois, told CNN on Saturday that he had been asked by a documentary crew to read lines from a teleprompter endorsing various supposed Israeli innovations, including the idea of arming four-year-olds to defend themselves against terrorists.
“I’ll probably laugh at myself” when the episode airs, Walsh told CNN, adding that he is a fan of Baron Cohen. “He’s a funny guy because he gets people to say stupid things.” — Reuters

GT Capital’s ProFriends inks deal to sell land in Cavite to MPIC arm

A PROPERTY UNIT of GT Capital Holdings, Inc. has sealed a deal with Metro Pacific Investments Corp.’s (MPIC) logistics arm to sell its Cavite property for P1.02 billion.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Monday, GT Capital said its subsidiary Property Company of Friends, Inc. (ProFriends) and MPIC’s MetroPac Movers, Inc. (MMI) signed definitive agreements for the sale of 202,110 square meters (sq.m.) of land in General Trias, Cavite priced at P5,025 per sq.m.
MMI disclosed its intention to acquire ProFriends’ property last month, which it said will be developed into a covered warehouse space spanning 141,000 sq.m. The facility will be used to better manage MMI’s distribution centers for existing and potential clients in the fast moving consumer goods, consumer durables, automotive, and e-commerce spaces.
MPIC will be spending P8 billion to develop the property and to purchase equipment to be used in the facility.
The developed warehouse space will be added to MMI’s current portfolio of 207,000 sq.m. warehouse spaces across the country.
MMI’s acquisition forms part of the Metro Pacific group’s goal to ramp up its investments in the logistics industry. Earlier this year, the company said it is on the look out for two to three logistics firms. It is also poised to close its acquisition of transport and logistics solutions provider Air21.
ProFriends is one of the property units under GT Capital alongside Federal Land, Inc. The company ended 2017 with a total land bank of 2,211.9 hectares primarily in Cavite and Iloilo. Of this, 602.2 hectares have been developed while 1,609.7 hectares are undeveloped.
The company builds master-planned townships consisting of residential subdivisions and commercial, retail, and institutional establishments. It has recently expanded its scope to medium-rise buildings, through its Illustrata Residences project in Quezon City.
ProFriends targets the affordable and middle income markets, with house and lot packages priced from P700,000 to P3.3 million, according to its 2017 annual report.
ProFriends and Federal Land generated P4.3 billion in consolidated revenues during the first quarter of 2018, resulting to a net income of P423.8 million.
Aside from property, GT Capital also has core investments in banking, automotive, insurance, and infrastructure.
GT Capital’s consolidated net income jumped 21% to P3.8 billion in the January to March period, supported by P45.5 billion in consolidated revenues for the period.
Shares in GT Capital dropped by 0.52% or P5 to close at P950 each at the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday.
MPIC is one of the three key Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT, Inc., Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Arra B. Francia

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